Posts Tagged ‘Paper Golem’

Weeks ago I posted my tentative schedule for this convention, promising to post an update when things firmed up some. That’s what you’re looking at now, and you’ll see that almost nothing has changed (though now I have room assignments for you). That says a lot about the folks handling programming. Well done.

Not content to rest on their laurels, all of a day after I had my initial scheduling information they loaded me up with their online scheduling utility. So, I’ve had this a bit and wanted to wait in case they had any last minute changes. Sorry, that’s not their style, they got it all right the first time. So now, without further ado, here’s were you can find me during my Author GoH gig at VancouFur.

3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Fraser | Klingon Language!
Come by and ask questions or just listen to me tell stories from more than two decades of spreading Klingon around the world.

Saturday, March 11th
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Fraser | Language and SF
I talk about language and linguistics at almost every convention I attend, and it’s never the same thing twice because language is so awesome!

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Fraser | Q&A Reading w/ Lawrence M. Schoen
I’ll read a bit from the sequel to Barsk, and then answer your questions about that book, other stories, novellas, and novels I’ve written, about writing in general, or most anything you want to ask me.

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Fraser | Advantages of Small Press Publishing
I’ve sold short stories to a couple dozen small press anthologies. My first two novels came out from a small press. I run a small press of my own. And I’m on the Board of Directors for SFWA where we talk about small press contracts and such. So, come by and let’s kick around some of the pros and cons of small press publishing.

5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. | Grand Ballroom A | GOH Dinner
This seems like a good thing for me to attend. I’m a big fan of dinner. What’s portion size like in Canada? If you sit next to me, can I eat off your plate too?

7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. | Grand Ballroom A | Variety Show
I expect to be in attendance, likely because I ate too much at the dinner to be able to move yet. (It’s your fault. I can’t believe you let me eat off your plate like that).

Sunday, March 12th
12:00pm – 1:00pm | Boardroom A | SFWA Q&A
The fine folks at VancouFur have graciously provided me some space to hang out and answer questions about the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America for anyone who might be interested in what they do, what resources they make available, what the perks of membership include, and what you can avail yourself of without even joining! So come on by.

When I’m not doing programming, I’ll likely be drinking a Diet Coke, wandering around in the public spaces, chilling at the bar, or possibly typing away frantically on a tablet (in either a public space, or the bar). Feel free to come over and say “hi” if you like.

In early March, I’ll be traveling to Canada. Specifically to Vacouver, British Columbia, where I have the privilege of being the Author GoH at VancouFur.

I’m especially excited to be going as this will be my first Furry convention!

Earlier today they sent me the details of my schedule. Some of this will change and I’ll post an update when it does. In particular, I’m eager to learn who I’ll be doing panels with. You’ll know when I do. 🙂

Thursday, March 9th
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. | Opening Ceremonies

Friday, March 10th
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Author Meet & Greet
I’ll probably only be at this for the first half hour, because at 1:30 I have to go to…

1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Ice Cream Social
And I’ll probably only be at this for the first half hour as well, because at 2:00 I have to go to…

3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Klingon Language!
Come by and ask questions or just listen to me tell stories from more than two decades of spreading Klingon around the world.

Saturday, March 11th
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Language and SF
I talk about language and linguistics at almost every convention I attend, and it’s never the same thing twice because language is so awesome!

2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Q&A Reading w/ Lawrence M. Schoen
I’ll read a bit from the sequel to Barsk, and then answer your questions about that book, other stories, novellas, and novels I’ve written, about writing in general, or most anything you want to ask me.

4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | Advantages of Small Press Publishing
I’ve sold short stories to a couple dozen small press anthologies. My first two novels came out from a small press. I run a small press of my own. And I’m on the Board of Directors for SFWA where we talk about small press contracts and such. So, come by and let’s kick around some of the pros and cons of small press publishing.

5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. | GOH Dinner
This seems like a good thing for me to attend. I’m a big fan of dinner. What’s portion size like in Canada? If you sit next to me, can I eat off your plate too?

7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. | Variety Show
I expect to be in attendance, likely because I ate too much at the dinner to be able to move yet. (It’s your fault. I can’t believe you let me eat off your plate like that).

Sunday, March 12th
Time to be Determined | SFWA Q&A
I’ve asked the convention if they could perhaps find some space for me to hang out and answer questions about the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America for anyone who might be interested in what they do, what resources they make available, what the perks of membership include, and what you can avail yourself of without even joining! So come on by.

When I’m not doing programming, I’ll likely be drinking a Diet Coke, wandering around in the public spaces, chilling at the bar, or possibly typing away frantically on a tablet (in either a public space, or the bar). Feel free to come over and say “hi” if you like.

After a year of far too much travel, things are finally winding down and the remaining stops on my convention schedule are much closer to home and familiar. Next up is Capclave, just down the road a couple hours in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

In addition to the panels and other items. listed below, please note that I’ll be at the awards presentation on Saturday night. Two of the authors up for the WSFS award this year, Beth Cato and Leona Wisoker, were nominated for stories from the anthology Cats in Space, edited by Elektra Hammond and published by Paper Golem. Neither of these authors can attend, and so it will fall to me to accept on their behalf. A happy chore indeed.

Friday, October 7th
8:00 – 8:55 p.m. | Rockville/ Potomac | An Animal World
Animal protagonists need to be a mix of animal nature and human level intelligence, not just people in animal suits. The panel will discuss the joys and pitfalls of working with these characters.with Alan Loewen (M), Mike McPhail, Bernie Mojzes, and Michelle D. Sonnier

Saturday, October 9th
12:00 – 12:25 a.m. | Seneca | Reading
If everyone in the room has already read Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard, I’ll read — for the first time anywhere — the opening chapter or two from the sequel!

12:30 – 12:55 a.m. | Author’s hallway table | Author Table
I’ll be putting in some time showing off some of the things I’ve written and/or published. This is a narrow window in which to pick up some classic Paper Golem titles.

2:00 – 2:55 p.m. | Rockville/ Potomac | Writing Gadgets Well
How do you work technology into your story without boring the reader? You want to make your “inventions” believable, but how much is too much?with Barbara Krasnoff, Edward M. Lerner, and Darcy Wold

3:00 – 3:55 p.m. | Salon A | World Creation and Maintenance
Authors are gods when it comes to world creation. The panelists will discuss not only how they create a world, but also how it can grow, especially if the story is part of a series.with Ann Chatham, Sarah Beth Durst, and Victoria Janssen

7:30 – 8:25 p.m. | Salon A | Mass Autograph Session
I’ll be sitting at a table somewhere, with paper name tent in front of me, waiting to sign all the things. Please come by with your share.

8:30 – 10:00 p.m. | Salon A | WSFA Small Press Award
Come join the convention in honoring both short fiction and small presses. Lots of honorable mentions and someone wins the prize. All things being equal, there’s a 2 in 9 chance I’ll be reading someone’s acceptance speech!

I have really been looking forward to this convention. Low key, good conversation, and some truly wonderful Peruvian food.

So here’s the deal. I’m doing way too much travel this spring. I just returned from a trip to southern California. Next week I’ll be up in NYC for BEA/Bookcon. Mere days after returning from that, I’m flying out to Chicago for the Nebula Awards Conference. So, while I do realize that the Memorial Day Weekend is traditionally one of the busiest convention weekends for Science Fiction, I just can’t swing it this year.

And that’s a huge shame, because I was looking forward to attending ConQuesT 46 in Kansas City, seeing old friends, hanging out with so many of the Hadley Rille Books authors, playing games like “Story in a Bag” with members of both courts of NobleFusion, and arranging for a cage match between two different publishers of Nebula-nominated Amazing Conroy novellas (sorry, Barbara and Eric). But it is not meant to be.

But I can’t just go cold turkey.

So the folks at a Balticon 49 have generously agreed to let me do a couple panels on Saturday, which means I’ll be making a daytrip that day, showing up at the convention quite early and getting back in my car quite late (okay, technically, it’ll likely be Sunday by the time I reach home again, but this is NOT a technical blog, so shut up).

Here’s we’ll you’ll find me when I’m not in the bar/greenroom/at-breakfast/lunch/dinner/partying:

Saturday, May 23rd

2:00 – 4:50 p.m. | Derby | Targeting Submissions: The Pitch
How do you pick the best publications to send your work to? How do you sell them on your ideas and craft?Joy Ward, Jennifer R Povey, Aaron Rosenberg, Bud Sparhawk, and me.

6:00 – 4:50 p.m. | Salon B | How Do You Work Technology into your Story
You spent five pages describing the workings of that ray gun. It needed to be credible, you thought. Sorry, but your readers fell asleep after the first paragraph. Hint: your story ain’t about a ray gun. Discover what to keep in and what to leave out in your fiction.Walt Boyes, Jack McDevitt, Mark L Van Name, and me.

In addition, I’ll have copies of Paper Golem’s purfect new anthology Cats in Space with me and I will let you buy them (because I’m a nice guy like that).

Also, Barry will be with me, and he’ll have a couple copies of Calendrical Regression to sell you (get it before its Nebula fate is decided at week later), as well as free ebook copies.

It’s going to be a wild and very full day, and I’m looking forward to seeing you and you and you (and yes, even you) there.

As you know, Bob, the Buffalito World Outreach Project (BWOP) is my attempt to use science fiction to reach the entire planet, spreading the first tale of the Amazing Conroy and his buffalo dog, Reggie, to speakers of as many languages as I can.

Toward that end, it gives me great pleasure to announce that shiny, new and improved, and free downloads are now available in both ePub and mobi formats for the following languages: Catalan, Finnish, Polish, and (Mexican) Spanish.

As I write this, Philcon, the world’s longest running SF convention, is a mere six days away. And today, a little before 2pm, I received my schedule. The lead time is less than ideal, but we’ve all seen worse in past years and other cons, and besides there’s no point grousing. Instead, let’s talk about where you can find me and what I’ll be doing next weekend!

Friday, November 21st
9:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. | Party Floor (room to be determined) | Launch PartyBarbara E. Hill, the force behind NobleFusion Press, is throwing a launch party for the release of my new Amazing Conroy novella, “Calendrical Regression.” You should come by.

9:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. | Party Floor (same as last night) | San Marino in 2019 Worldcon Bid PartyWhy settle for a city when you can have an entire country? That’s right, the most serene republic of San Marino is the site of a Worldcon bid and this is the first party. Support the bid and come away with a free ebook!

Sunday, November 23rd
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Crystal Ballroom Two | – Language, Thought, and Understanding Science fiction stories that address language and linguistics include Embassytown and Babel 17, among many others. Language is obviously going to be a crucial factor when contacting an alien species, and all kinds of interesting questions come up, such as, could there be alien languages that could never be understood by humans (or vice versa) and how much does language shape thought/psychology (and vice versa)
with Rebecca Robare, Bernie Mojzes, Mark Mandel, and me wearing my friendly moderator hat.

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Plaza II | – Creating Believable AliensHow Does a Writer create convincing extraterrestrial characters who are not just humans with funny make-up, but are clearly the product of a different environment and evolutionary history? How do you show an alien that can think as well as a man, but differently.
with Steve Miller (mod), Jack McDevitt, Tom Purdom, James L. Cambias and me.

And if that’s not enough for you, Barry will also be around (when he’s not sleeping) to pose for photographs with you.

The fine folks at Philcon sent out program assignments today, a full eight days before the convention is to start. This may not seem impressive to some of you, but it’s a vast improvement over last year’s state of affairs.

I’ll be day tripping in from my home (which also isn’t exactly in Philadelphia, but is at least in PA) and only showing up on Friday and Saturday. You’re on your own for Sunday. Currently, all of my programming is set for Saturday as follows:

Saturday, November 9th

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | Executive Suite 623 | ReadingUpdate!This just in: I will be joined during this hour by the brilliant Fran Wilde. That’s right, people, TWO readings for the price of one!

3:00 – 4:00 p.m. | Plaza IV | – Planning to write a seriesIf you don’t plan, you may come up with a really neat idea in book 5 which is unfortunately inconsistent with the first four books. How can you keep it interesting and not get tied to your outline.
with Tom Doyle (mod), Danielle Ackley-McPhail, D.H. Aire, Gail Z. Martin, and me.

8:00 – 9:00 p.m. | Plaza IV | – Expanding a short story into a novelHow do you turn a short work into a longer work without just simply padding. What are proper ways to expand a story
with Steve Miller (mod), Sharon Lee, Mike McPhail, and me.

And of course, Barry will be with me for much of the convention, eagerly hoping you’ll ask to pose for a photograph with him.

Saturday, October 12th
10:00 – 10:55 a.m. | Salon A | Moving Beyond the Small PressA look at how small presses in the age of the eReaders – where anyone can be a publisher – have their limits, and what to do when you’ve hit them. There is also the additional pressure of performing on a higher level. Listen to panelists describe what to do when you have plateaued with your own independent publisher, and what lies ahead if or when you step up to corporate publishers.
With Philippa Ballantine (M), Ron Garner, and Michael A. Ventrella.

1:00 – 1:55 p.m.| Author’s Hallway | Author’s Table (M)I’ll be here for nearly an hour, with an assortment of books from Paper Golem, hanging out chatting, signing things if you have things for me to sign, and so forth.
Me and Barry.

3:00 – 3:55 p.m.| Salon A | Life and Death of the Shared UniverseWhy did these become so popular? What about Wildcards and others made them survive? Can the Internet revive this form? Or is its demise a victory of art over commercialization?
With Iver Cooper (M), Meriah Lysistrata Crawford, Bob Greenberger, and Annette Klause.

8:30 – 9:25 p.m.| Salon A – E | Awards Reception and PresentationFor the second year in a row, I’m up for the WSFS Small Press Award. Will this be my year? Who knows?

Sunday, October 13th
9:00 a.m. – 9:55 a.m. | Rockville/Potomac | Agents and YouAgents are very important to authors. Sometimes you have a great match from the beginning, other times the situation changes. Hear the experiences of authors at different stages in their careers.
With Tom Doyle, Emmie Mears, and Michael Swanwick. Oh, and I’m moderating.

10:00 a.m. – 10:55 a.m. | Salons CDE | Hand Waving or Sci-fantasy?Many classic Science Fiction authors didn’t spend a lot of time describing the technology or science of their futures. Things worked, but if you look more closely, they may not make sense. Today authors still use this technique. Is this a legitimate form of science fiction or lazy writing? Have the standard furniture of sf — the FTL drive and time machine — become so common the author does not need to explain them, just use them for a story? Do all the details and the scientific equations get in the way?
With David Bartell, D. Douglas Fratz, Inge Heyer, and Jamie Todd Rubin. And again I’ll be moderating.

Of course the convention is still nearly four weeks away, and it’s likely there’ll be some changes to the schedule. I’ll keep you posted.